Fridge freezer, freezer working, but fridge not

Common things being common, I'd hazard a guess that there's too much ice formed in the freezer to allow the door to closed properly.

Try a thorough defrost.

Tim

It is a frost free freezer, do I switch it off open the doors and leave it for how long?

Well if it's really frost free, that would be a bit of a waste of time. Sounds like it's b*ggered. ;-)

Tim

Google sez the FF4DX is quite expensive. If it is a frost free fridge there should not be a drain hole in the fridge compartment. If it is a frost free freezer compartment there should not be ice in the freezer compartment. OP should turn the piece of frost free s*it off overnight and leave the doors open. Why do people buy frost free?

Despite being frost free, it's bunged up with frost, behind the back panel where you can't see it. It could be because the defrost system isn't working or, given the door being left open, it's just overwhelmed.

To defrost it, you'll need to empty the freezer, unplug it and take out the back panel, disconnecting any fan wiring etc. Then you should be able to see the evaporator which will no-doubt look like a mass of frost.

When you hair-dryer it, bung up the drain hole first so you don't get too much water in the tray over the compressor. Check the tray afterwards and get out as much water as you can. Also, make sure you don't get it too hot or you'll trip the thermal fuse.

Cheers,

Colin.

Colin Stamp wrote in news:- snipped-for-privacy@brightview.co.uk:

They usually have heater that comes on at a pre-set interval to defrost the chiller. By leaving the door open it will have created more frost than this little heater can cope with. As others have said - do a complete defrost. The heater timer can fail - but I suspect that due to the frost only being slightly melted it will have formed a block of ice.

Its probably bunged up where it drains. Do not know the model, but my Fridgemaster unbunged itself wahen it was rested for a couple of days. However I do notice that its still slightly less efficient in the Fridge than it used to be being upside down, ie its colder at the top than at the bottom, so the milk and other perishables are now at the top and the other stuff that tastes nice cool is on the bottom. I'm sur if I was industrius enough to get it out from its alcove and take everying thing out and starve for a few days and cleaned out th drain or evaporation plate, I'd get it back to how it was.

Brian

We buy frost free as the defrosting is an orrible job especially when, like me you cannot see the puddles you make and kneel in them. Actually there is a hole and I assume it defrosts by letting the thing raise in temp then drain then evaporate underneath. However it does this quite often so you don't need to worry about it. In the case of the Freezer its working very well, and I suspect its here made to work by a fan system and the evaporation is done outside the compartments. Thefridge, if done this way too, could be due to a dodgy fan in that part of the unit, not circulating the air to de humidify it. Brian

"Brian Gaff" wrote in news:l6shc8$gk3$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

The defrost system can only cope with "typical" useage. Leaving a door open is not anticipated and the cycle gets overwhelmed.

I think you were correct first time:-) It's just the frost is not in the freezer compartment.

Hi, I took the panel off the back of the freezer, and it was frozen up inside. Borrowed the hairdryer and now the milk is now lovely and cold. Thanks all

We have a different model Hotpoint.

If your works in a similar way to ours, then your problem is likely to be simple. Ours cools the freezer compartment only, then uses a fan and a motorised flap to circulate air from the freezer to the fridge and back as required to keep the fridge at the correct temperature.

I have found through experience that if the door is left open, moisture from the outside air freezes and blocks up the ducts and everything stops working. The drain usually blocks as well, so the frost-free heating cycle can't do anything.

Take all the food out of the freezer, remove the back panel from the interior of the freezer and you can access the fan, sensors, etc. Then use a hairdryer (or better still a steam wallpaper stripper with the plate removed from the end of the hose) to defrost everything.

Put it back together, put the food back in and switch on. Problem solved.

SteveW

This is a common failure mode for FF fridge/freezers. And not just when the door has been left open. They are a PITA. I wish consumer groups like "Which?" wouldn't recommend them.

I wouldn't use a wallpaper stripper!

Until the next time.

I have done a couple of times - some of them are even supplied with nozzles specifically for defrosting freezers, which is where I got the idea.

We've never had a problem unless the door has been left open or one time where a sensor failed.

Our previous, non-frost-free fridge freezer regularly needed to be de-iced and alwaysended up with huge puddles of water on the floor.

SteveW

SteveW wrote in news:l72us5$8pj$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

I wonder if (apart from melting plastic parts) you can harm the system by causing too much expansion - leading to over pressure in the gas circuit?

It shouldn't melt anything, as the steam will be at a maximum of 100°C, which most plastics will be fine with.

The metal should never get hot, as you are either directing the steam onto the ice or onto metal still partly covered in ice.

I've done a quick search and it seems to be a commonly recommended method and I've not found any warnings of problems.

As I said before, some steam strippers are sold with nozzles specifically for this task - if it was likely to cause damage, they'd be opening themselves up to legal claims.

SteveW

You may be right but I wouldn't risk it. There could be many reasons why such a high heat could damage something. I've heard reports of people damaging freezers with hairdryers.

I doubt it. They'd just tell you to be more careful.